Today is my 31st birthday and in an effort to not dwell on the fact that I’ve past all the exciting birthdays and now just getting old, I went through the pictures of my 21st birthday. I can’t believe its been 10 years since then but whatever, moving on. I was at FSU in Tallahassee, Florida for my 21st birthday. Tennessee Street was the main drag with all the bars and clubs. Making your way down this street, hitting all the establishments was called the Tennessee Waltz. Somehow it had become tradition at this school to do the Tennessee Waltz for the big 2 1 with everyone dressed in some theme. Since I was Miss FSU, my friends and I decided to go as beauty queens. We all wore tiaras and sashes. My sash said Miss 21st Birthday but everyone else’s sash said Miss whatever fabulous intoxicating concoction they most enjoyed, such as Miss Cosmo and Miss Margarita!
My friends bought me drinks and shots at each place and had me sign my name after each one on a napkin. I still have that napkin. Its quite funny to see how the signature gets just plain illegible. I was surrounded by great friends who showed me a good time but also took very good care of me…helped me get my pants back on after peeing, got me home safely and even helped me puke it all up.
Someone documented the event quite well with pictures and I’m enjoying the stroll down memory lane. Here’s a couple I thought I’d share.
This is how the beauty queens started and this is how we ended.
My sister came out to visit me recently and we were able to get in to see a taping of The Tonight Show. We are both fans of the show and it was really exciting to see Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter in person. Both are waaaay taller than you’d expect. When we were leaving, we were handed a little flyer that explained how to get a personalized Tonight Show badge. I thought that was a pretty cool idea and hadn’t seen that before with other show tapings so I wanted to check it out. Besides having to sign up for an account with NBC.com, its just a three step process. Easy! I hope I don’t start getting NBC spam though. Aaaanywaaays, here it is!
Season finales are all around us and we must say bye-bye to some of our favorite television characters for a few months. Until we can reunite with them in the fall, whatever will we watch this summer? There is a reality show for just about everyone as well as some new scripted series.
Apparently, the theme this summer for reality shows is weddings. ABC brings us Here Come the Newleyweds on Monday nights. TNT has Wedding Day while CW has Hitched or Ditched, both on Tuesdays. And of course there will still be the traditional dating reality shows. The Bachelorette stars Jillian who narrowly missed the absurd choas of winning Jason Mesnick’s heart but successfully won the heart of America. And on Tuesdays, Fox has a new show, More to Love, a Bachelor-style dating show featuring a man who’s looking for a woman with a little extra cushion for the push’n.
More in the reality category is The Superstars on ABC where two-person teams comprised of celebrities and professional athletes compete against one another in different challenges. ABC also has The Great American Roadtrip where seven families travel through the US and compete while visiting historic landmarks. And of course my favorite reality show, So You Think You Can Dance, returns with its usual artistic, musical fabulousness!!!!!
Believe it or not there actually are some scripted shows as well…
ABC is nice enough to air the final episodes of a couple series they abruptly yanked off the air this past fall. Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone will finish up Saturday nights this summer.
Nurse Jackie, on Showtime, stars Edie Falco as a pill-popping New York ER nurse.
ABC Family has created 10 Things I Hate About You, a show based on the 1999 movie. Mental, on Fox, appears to be a medical procedural surrounding a psychiatrist.
TNT has Jada Pinkett Smith’s turn to TV, Hawthorne…something about doctors in a hospital, blah, blah, blah. The Goode Family, this animated series on ABC is about an uber-green family. The Philanthropist on NBC stars Neve Campbell. Dark Blue has Dylan McDermott as an undercover police officer on TNT.
NBC has The Listener, a show about a paramedic with hidden telepathic powers.
Mark Feuerstein is trying TV AGAIN with Royal Pains on USA.
It has literally been over a year that Lan, Vu and I have been trying to sync up our schedules for a photo shoot. We finally got our acts together. I met them down in OC and with help from stylist Angela Sauceda magic happened!
The Bui brothers are so easy to work with. I love their creativity. They are knowledgeable, experienced photographers but also New Media savvy as well. That’s a great combo!
I wanted to post some of my favorites here. Lan & Vu posted some shots as well on their website. They also made a fun behind the scenes video!
First up, let me apologize for the quality of my photos. I was using my phone and they have a habit of coming out blurry. But, crappy camera work aside…I WAS ON THE SET OF ATTACK OF THE SHOW! I was there assisting the Ninja. From Ask a Ninja, of course. Is there any other ninja? He was there promoting his new iPhone app, the I Am Ninja game.
So, anywhoooo, I was obviously excited about this opportunity, because as you all know, I am such a huge fan of AOTS. Not to mention, just being on any set makes me the happiest person in the world. This set happened to have a very cool vibe. Everyone was professional but fun and you could tell they enjoyed their job. I was impressed with the way they kept the energy up and the mood light. No one was tense or stressed. This is live television people! I expected some uptightness going on but nope, nada.
In the morning, the producers go over that day’s show. They start a rehearsal at 3pm PST where they run through the segments, what the hosts will say and where the cameras will be. Then at 4pm they start the live taping. The set is a very tiny room, not much larger than you see on TV. When Kevin & Olivia throw it over to the Feed, that host is standing maybe five feet away. After the taping, the producers meet and discuss the next couple of shows. The following day, it starts all over again!
Kevin, Olivia and Alison were all very friendly as were the producers and production staff. And I’m not just saying that cuz I want to work with them someday…they really were!
In case you missed the show, here is the segment with the Ninja…
Wonder Woman has joined my home! This kick-ass cookie jar was a gift and I love her. Part of me thinks she should stay safely boxed up but she’s too cool not to display. I’m not putting cookies in her though.
I finally saw Watchmen and I really really liked it. I thought it was beautifully crafted and well performed. I loved the music choices. And contrary to others, I felt the sex scenes spoke volumes about the characters and their relationships.
The first scene with Laurie and Jon relayed Jon’s scientific knowledge of the human anatomy but his difficulty to fully engage with other humans. This is an important part of Dr. Manhattan’s character that needed to come across so we could understand why, although they love and care for each other, they couldn’t make it as a couple.
The second love scene between Laurie and Dan was so realistic and endearing. It clearly showed that the attraction had grown, they wanted each other but were nervous, awkward and ultimately unable to perform. How lovely! Now as an audience we understand Laurie leaving Jon and want her to succeed with Dan.
The third and most controversial scene was a bit more graphic. Laurie and Dan have just gotten back into their alter egos as Silk Spectre II and Nite Owl II, they rescued some kiddies from a burning building and have adrenaline running through those hawt spandex clad bodies. Of course they are gonna get it on big time! Yes, they showed her boobs, yes they showed his bum, yes they showed some intense facial expressions along with grinding of bodies. But there was also the perfectly chosen Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen and the aptly timed backfiring of Archie! It was a wonderful blend of passion and comedy. It made me chuckle.
I completely understand that sex scenes make some people uncomfortable just like violence bothers others. There is that risk of alienating audience members with every R rated movie. Whether uncomfortable or not, I just hope that you can see the arc of these three important scenes and appreciate smart filmmaking.
Plus, I personally want to know that superheroes have amazing superhero sex. Is that just me?
Its my favorite time of year!!!!! Academy Award time.
This year seems to be pretty cut and dry. Slumdog is a favorite to win best picture. It already got the Golden Globe and SAG award. Heath Ledger will win Best Supporting Actor. He too got the well deserved Globe and SAG award.
Best Supporting Actress is totally up in the air. Kate Winslet dominated this category in the past two award shows but now isn’t even nominated in this category. For whatever reason, her role in The Reader counted as Supporting for the Globes and SAG but falls in the Best Actress category for the Academy Awards. So that puts her in direct competition with Meryl Streep who turned in an amazing performance in Doubt. Ms. Streep always does incredible work and has already been awarded Mr. Oscar twice. (Kramer vs Kramer, 1979 & Sophie’s Choice, 1982) I think the Academy wants to give the award to a fresh, young actress who deserves some recognition. Or maybe I’m just bias because I want Kate Winslet to win! Oh, and I would like to see Viola Davis win Best Supporting Actress. She knocked it out of the park in Doubt!
Best Actor is also a head to head (to head) competition. Mickey Rourke surprised us all when he won the Golden Globe for The Wrestler. Then SAG went back to predictability, giving Sean Penn the award for Milk. This leaves the playing field wide open for the Oscars. But, lets not forget Mr. Blockbuster himself, Brad Pitt is in this category too. The Academy is just dying to give him an award for his body of work. They do this sometimes. (Denzel Washington, Training Day, 2002) I have no idea who will get this award and I’m not rooting for anyone in particular.
I get completely sucked into watching red carpet arrivals on E! all day gearing up for the big ceremony. Alright, Hollywood, lets do this!!!!
